How to Add and Manage Admins on Your ARK: Survival Ascended Server

Running an ARK: Survival Ascended server is much easier when you have trusted admins helping you keep things in order. Admins can kick disruptive players, run server commands, manage structures, and keep your world in good shape while you are away.

This guide walks you through how to set an admin password, grant admin access to players in-game, and use the built-in RCON console in the RiverHosting panel to run commands directly.

Before you start

• You need an active ARK: Survival Ascended server through RiverHosting.
• Log in to the panel at panel.riverhosting.com and open your server.
• Your server should be running before you make changes. If it is stopped, start it first.
• Share the admin password only with people you fully trust. Admins have wide control over your server.

1. Set your admin password in Server Config

The first step is to set an admin password. Players will use this password in-game to unlock admin access for themselves once you share it with them privately.

1. Open your server in the RiverHosting panel.
2. Click Server Config in the left-hand menu.
3. Find the Admin Password field and enter a strong, unique password.
4. Save your changes.
5. Restart your server so the new password takes effect.

2. Grant admin access to a player in-game

Once the admin password is set and your server has restarted, a trusted player can unlock admin access themselves by entering the password in-game. You do not need to do anything extra in the panel for this step.

1. Have the player join your ARK: Survival Ascended server.
2. In-game, the player opens the pause menu.
3. They select Admin Login or open the in-game console (usually by pressing Tab or the platform equivalent).
4. They type EnableCheats YourAdminPassword, replacing YourAdminPassword with the password you set in Server Config.
5. If the password is correct, admin access is granted for that session.

3. Run admin commands using the RCON console

The RiverHosting panel includes a built-in RCON console for ARK: Survival Ascended. This lets you run admin commands directly from the panel without needing to be in-game.

1. Open your server in the panel.
2. Click RCON in the left-hand menu.
3. Type your command into the input field and press Enter or click Send.

Some useful admin commands you can run from RCON:

• ListPlayers - Shows all players currently connected, along with their Steam IDs.
• KickPlayer <SteamID> - Kicks a player from the server.
• BanPlayer <SteamID> - Bans a player from the server.
• UnbanPlayer <SteamID> - Removes a ban.
• Broadcast <message> - Sends a message to all players on the server.
• SaveWorld - Forces an immediate world save.
• DoExit - Gracefully shuts down the server (useful before restarts).

4. Check player activity from the Console

If you want to monitor what is happening on your server without using RCON commands, the Console tab gives you a live feed of server output, including player joins, disconnections, and errors.

1. Open your server in the panel.
2. Click Console in the left-hand menu.
3. Watch the live output or scroll up to review recent activity.

This is a good place to check if a player was successfully kicked or banned after you ran a command through RCON.

Troubleshooting

• Admin password is not working in-game. Make sure you saved the password in Server Config and restarted the server after saving. The change does not apply until the server restarts.
• RCON commands are not responding. Check that your server is online in the panel. If the server is starting up or crashed, RCON will not be available until it is fully running.
• Player lost admin access after rejoining. This is expected. ARK: Survival Ascended requires players to re-enter the admin password each session. Share the password privately with your trusted admins so they can log in again each time.
• You cannot find the RCON page. Make sure you are looking at the correct server in the panel. RCON is listed in the left-hand menu for ARK: Survival Ascended servers.
• Server Config changes did not save. Try refreshing the page and checking the field again. If the issue continues, contact support.

Need help?

If you are having trouble setting up admins or using RCON on your ARK: Survival Ascended server, the RiverHosting support team is happy to help.